


I Don't Have A Cat

by Oakwyrm



Category: Thrilling Intent (Web Series)
Genre: I don't have a cat, Lost Pet, M/M, Meet-Cute, Neighbors, Pets, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-04-23 18:55:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14338905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oakwyrm/pseuds/Oakwyrm
Summary: One thing Gregor is relatively certain of, he doesn't have a cat. Neither do any of his roommates. Yet there is a cat, sitting on the kitchen counter, meowing at him first thing in the morning.





	I Don't Have A Cat

**Author's Note:**

> I had a sudden need to write this for I don't know what reason. So here it is.

Gregor stumbled into the kitchen, trying not to trip over Galatea as she ran out in front of him, eager to get out for their morning walk. He yawned, trying not to keel over onto the nearest chair. He didn’t like being tired in the mornings, but it was something he was unfortunately used to. It wasn't often that he slept soundly through the night.

It can perhaps be forgiven, then, that he didn’t notice the cat sitting on the kitchen counter until it stood up and meowed at him. He jumped, nearly falling over at the unexpected noise. Galatea began barking. The cat jumped and hissed.

“Galatea, stay,” Gregor said firmly. She looked up at him a little displeased but remained in her spot. Gregor walked towards the cat. A big, fluffy, dark grey cat. Norwegian Forest, if he had to make a guess, not that he knew much about cat breeds. “Hi there, do you have a collar I can check?”

The cat eyed Galatea doubtfully.

“It’s ok,” Gregor carefully reached towards her. “I’m not gonna hurt you and neither will she.” He gently caught hold of the cat and found a collar around her neck, nearly hidden by her long, thick fur. A small metal plaque was fastened to it, giving a home address and a phone number to contact. Above it, the name “Freya” was stamped in bold letters. Gregor laughed softly.

“Fitting,” he muttered. He squinted at the address again. It wasn’t far from his own home. Which made sense, he supposed. That hopefully meant she hadn’t been missing long, either. Her fur didn’t seem matted or tangled, that was probably a good sign.

“How did you get in?” he asked, scratching her gently behind the ear. She shifted slightly, pleased but still suspicious of Galatea. He couldn’t really blame her. He picked up A5 block commonly used for shopping lists and copied down the information on her tag. She bumped her head against his elbow. He absently patted her head as he stared at the paper, drifting slightly.

He was woken from the haze by a sharp and icy draft blowing over his bare ankles, making him shiver. He frowned and looked around for the source. His eyes landed on the door to the hall bathroom and he sighed. Markus had probably forgotten to close the window in the evening.

He walked to it and steeled himself. He knew full well what was going to happen when he opened the door.

Forewarning did not make the freezing gust of wind and snow that flew into his face any less terrible. He shivered as the assessed the destruction. Overall not that terrible, actually. Though he was glad no one had gotten up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. Finding a pile of snow on the toilet cover wasn’t the kind of thing anyone took kindly at two in the morning.

He closed the window quickly to avoid any more getting in and decided he’d deal with the snow when it was water again. The sound of Galatea quietly padding up to him to investigate made him smile. He reached down and absently petted her head. The door tried to close itself only to be halted by his presence in the doorway. For once he was thankful for how weird this particular door was as it has stopped the kitchen and the living room from becoming frigid hellscapes.

“We’ll deal with this later,” he said to Galatea. “I’ve gotta call Freya’s human and tell them she’s safe.” After he’d gotten dressed. He should probably also fetch his phone, that might help in the endeavour. He yawned.

* * *

Zalvetta had not slept at all that night. He could feel his leg bouncing restlessly as he tried to focus on at least feeding himself. He reminded himself again that he had looked for her last night. He’d be of no use to her passed out from hunger or exhaustion in the snow. She was better equipped for cold climates than him any day of the week. Didn’t mean he had to like it, though.

The sharp sound of his phone vibrating on the table next to him sent a lance of pain through his head but he shoved it aside, diving for the phone and checking the caller ID. Unknown number. He almost dropped it in his hurry to answer.

“If this isn’t about my cat I’m not interested.” He couldn’t really bring himself to care about how rude that sounded. The voice on the other side laughed. Under different circumstances, Zalvetta might have noted how nice that laugh sounded.

“She’s in my kitchen. One of my roommates forgot to close the bathroom window last night and she got in.” Zalvetta breathed a sigh of relief and slumped backwards in his chair, breakfast forgotten.

“Where do you live? I’ll come pick her up.” He got to his feet, heading towards the front door as the guy on the other end gave his address. It wasn’t actually that far from Zalvetta’s own home, which he was thankful for. As they said goodbye and Zalvetta gave an estimate for how quickly he’d be there he vaguely noted that the voice seemed somehow familiar. He shook off that feeling and refocused on the task at hand.

He threw on his winter clothes as quickly as he could. Which wasn’t that fast because it was Winter in the North and that meant layers and scarves and functional shoes unless you wanted to lose some part of your body to a merciless god. This morning wasn’t actually that bad if the thermostat outside his window was to be believed. -15 was manageable, and the address he’d been given was just down the road.

The wind was biting but the way was short. He didn’t have to be outside for more than a minute before he stood on the step of the address he’d been given. He squinted at the nameplate on the door for a moment. There were a lot of surnames there.

Before he could even ring the doorbell the door opened and someone pulled him inside.

“Sorry, all of my roommates are still sleeping.” In person the voice sounded even more familiar. Zalvetta straightened and looked up and suddenly the familiarity made sense. He blinked, opened his mouth to say something, and promptly forgot how to. “I’m Gregor Hartway, by the way.” Gregor smiled and Zalvetta could’ve died on the spot.

Of all the people who could’ve found his cat, it had to be Gregor Hartway. Not that Zalvetta had known his name before, he’d just known that he was someone in the neighbourhood who liked to walk his dog through the park around the same time Zalvetta went out to get some fresh air every day. He also knew Gregor was cute, very cute, and that he was good with animals, and that his smile could light up a room, but that was about it.

“Zalvetta,” he finally managed. “I’m Zalvetta. Where’s Freya?”

“Through there, in the kitchen,” Gregor pointed. Zalvetta nodded and followed Gregor further into the house. On the kitchen counter, looking exactly like she had when Zalvetta had last seen her, sat Freya. Curled up below her on the floor lay the Finnish Laphund Zalvetta recognized as Gregor’s dog.

Freya took one look at the two of them entering the kitchen and bounded off the counter, jogging up to Zalvetta. She bumped her head against his legs, purring like there was no tomorrow. Zalvetta gently scooped her up and she quickly settled into his arms as if nothing had happened. For a moment he wondered if she’d chosen this house for other reasons than shelter alone.

“You look tired,” Gregor commented. He had sat down on the floor and was gently scratching the dog’s head. Galatea? Zalvetta thought he’d heard Gregor call her that a few times when they’d been in the park at the same time.

“I didn’t get much sleep,” he confessed. Freya rubbed her head against his cheek. He sighed. There was no way he wouldn't forgive her for the worry she caused him, and she knew that. Smug little bastard.

“That’s understandable,” Gregor said. “I don’t know what I’d do if Galatea ran off.” He got to his feet again and walked over to the sink, pouring himself a glass of water. “Are you a coffee or a tea person?”

Zalvetta blinked. “Uh, tea?” he answered. Gregor nodded absently, setting some water to boil.

“Is Earl Grey ok? I’m pretty sure Inien would murder me if I touch any of her fancy teas...” Gregor frowned into a cupboard that, from what Zalvetta could see, contained a multitude of different tea and coffee brands.

“Earl Grey is fine,” Zalvetta shifted, letting Freya jump down from his arms. He wasn’t sure exactly when in their short exchange he’d been invited to stay for tea, but he found he couldn’t care less about the details. Gregor smiled.

“Good, the living room's through there if you want somewhere more comfortable to sit than the kitchen table.” Zalvetta nodded and walked through the door Gregor indicated.

The living room was nice, large windows that would probably let in a lot of natural light, a sofa and easy chairs arranged around a low coffee table, and small ancient-looking TV in one corner of the room. A large bookshelf filled mostly with books but also home to several interesting looking trinkets stood against one of the walls. He sat down on the sofa, intending to continue his study of the room. As soon as he was settled comfortably, however, his exhaustion caught up with him. Freya jumped up and curled up on his lap.

Her warmth was the final straw. Zalvetta fell asleep.

Gregor walked in quietly a short while later. He considered waking Zalvetta for a moment but thought better of it. He quietly placed the mug of tea down on the coffee table and backed out back into the kitchen. Galatea looked at him expectantly and he nodded. He glanced around for the block of paper and tore out two fresh pieces.

On one he wrote a note for Zalvetta that he placed on the coffee table:

 

_If you wake up again before I’m back don’t worry, I’ve gone out for a morning walk with Galatea. Won’t be long. Your tea’s probably cold, though. If that bothers you feel free to make a fresh cup. You should be able to find everything ok. The others shouldn't bother you, most of them usually don't get up before I come back anyway. Oh and don't worry about any explosions unless Markus (the skinny, blond guy) or Kyr (big guy, red hair) look worried. Ashe (white hair + tattoos) is usually grumpy in the mornings, so don't take that personally. Thog might grumble something about adopting strays, ignore him, he did that with Kyr, too. And Inien. And Colvin. Not so much Firi but I think that's cause no one can grumble about Firi, she's too nice._

_Hope you slept well._

_\- Gregor_

 

On the other he wrote a note to the rest of the house that he taped to the wall at the top of the stairs:

 

_Don’t worry about the blond stranger asleep on the couch. His name’s Zalvetta, his cat got in last night because Markus forgot to close the bathroom window again. Her names Freya. Don’t worry about her either, she seems nice._

_Oh and please let him sleep! He seems like he needs it._

_\- Gregor_

**Author's Note:**

> *shrugs*  
> (don't worry I am still working on Dragons)


End file.
